Sage 300 CRE Cloud Hosting Case Study
Trapp Technology Timberline Hosting
Real Estate Development Company, Trump Group, Saves $250,000 per Year
Bottom line, Trapp Technology saves us money; they’ve increased efficiency and the security of our financial information; they’ve made the use of our system tremendously easier — all of the things the company is looking for.
— Bill Lillycrop, Treasurer, The Trump Group
Customer: The Trump Group
Customer Type: Real Estate Developer and Property Manager
Country or Region: U.S. Southeast
Industry: Real Estate Development
Website: www.trumpgroup.com
Customer Profile
The Trump Group, with offices in Florida, New Jersey, New York and California is a large real estate development, management and ownership firm. Their innovative projects incorporate the best green, energy efficient and advanced building technologies. Completed projects include office buildings, high-rise condos, hotels, a five star resort and a warehouse considered to be the largest green structure in the United States. They use Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate (formerly Sage Timberline Office) to manage the accounting and financial operations of their numerous entities and projects.
The Trump Group saves $250,000 per year in IT expenses by hosting their financial and accounting systems on Trapp Technology. Improved access, productivity and security make life easier for executives and users. Trapp Technology’s technical resources, responsiveness and knowledge of Sage Timberline Office turned a costly failed attempt with another hosting company into a big success. Trump Group’s software, large data files and numerous entities were transferred to the cloud smoothly in just a few days.
Business Needs
Replace Aging IT Infrastructure
The Trump Group tracks over 300 business entities on their Sage accounting software. Twenty-seven employees access large data files to manage the financial operations of properties and construction projects. “IT is always a challenge, especially data services infrastructure,” said Bill Lillycrop, Treasurer, The Trump Group.
In 2011 Trump Group decided to replace aging, company-owned, off-site servers and equipment used to host the accounting applications and data. “The equipment was getting old,” said Lillycrop. “The amount of data we could put through the pipeline was the biggest restriction.”
Finding the Right Hosting Provider
They looked at the overall cost to buy new equipment vs. outsourcing their IT. They considered using a local hosting company but decided to bring in Champion Solutions to help with the migration of the system to Peak 10, and Atlanta Data Center.
One year and more than $500,000 later they called off the project. “That was nothing but an absolute disaster,” said Lillycrop. “The consultants we brought in just weren’t able to get the job done. Nothing functioned. It cost a tremendous amount of money, time and inconvenience for everyone involved.”
Solution
In July, 2012, Lillycrop heard about Trapp Technology from a Sage Business Partner and began to investigate. “I called eight or nine customers and the Timberline engineers, even searched the web for negative comments,” said Lillycrop. “I got nothing but good responses.”
Trump Group’s IT staff was impressed with Trapp Technology’s technology and their knowledge of Timberline. The location of their data center in Arizona meant safe weather conditions, unlike other parts of the country prone to storms and earthquakes. The company’s size, track record and client base were also considered in the evaluation.
A Successful Test
Trump Group arranged a three week test with one of their databases. With migration services arranged by Trapp Technology, the test went smoothly including configuration and custom reports. “We were extremely pleased with the test so we pulled the trigger and decided to migrate everything,” said Lillycrop.
A Customized Timberline Migration
The full migration was scheduled for August. Trump Group’s software was up and running on the Cloud in just a few days. The final data migration of five databases was completed over a weekend.
“They moved over some enormous data files,” said Lillycrop. “Trapp Technology was extremely responsive in the setup and customization of Timberline and the way we wanted to control access. They’re easy to deal with, they communicate well, and they’re great problem solvers.”
“The speed and the ease with which Trapp Technology moved us to their data center was impressive, almost seamless,” said Lillycrop. “The accounting people had no idea anything was going on except for the change in the way they accessed the system. Everything was there and worked the way they wanted. Trapp Technology and their local consulting group got it done for less time and money than we anticipated and less than they originally quoted.” Total migration costs came to $7,500, just 1.5% of what they spent on the first attempt.
Benefits
• Hosting Saves $250,000 per Year
Eliminating the company’s off-site data center saves Trump Group a lot of money. “Compared to our previous operating expenses, we save $250,000 per year with Trapp Technology,” said Lillycrop. “I am seriously thrilled with Trapp Technology, both from a cost standpoint, and from ease of accessibility, security and everything like that. Any issue that we have always takes less time and money to solve than we expect,” said Lillycrop.
• Reduced Capital Expenditures
Trump Group had a $200,000 budget to replace all of the hardware. Trapp Technology’s hosting fees, which they prepaid for one year, are about $13,000. “I couldn’t buy a single server for that kind of money,” said Lillycrop. “This is significantly less and I’m using fewer IT people.
• Improved Productivity
Secure access from anywhere has had a positive impact on productivity. Trump Group’s principals travel extensively and always have questions for Lillycrop. “I work from home or on the road as I need to,” said Lillycrop. “I can get answers to them outside of normal business hours. Financial consolidations are easier and updating the software is seamless.”
Trump Group saves time and frustration with Trapp Technology compared to the remote system they were accessing before. “Trapp Technology’s web-based remote system is a lot easier to use than something like Remote Desktop,” said Lillycrop. “Speed is faster, visibility is faster, and reports print tremendously faster. It’s made everybody’s life a lot easier and less stressed.”
• Secure Access
Trapp Technology’s secure data center provides the peace of mind financial professionals seek. “Trapp Technology is quite knowledgeable about security and access is controlled carefully. Our people working the construction projects in California can’t see the books for any of our other companies on Trapp Technology,” said Lillycrop. “But, our office has absolute control over everything. Our financial information and accounting data is more secure on Trapp Technology, yet it’s very accessible for our people who need to see it.”
• Hurricane Sandy Recovery
Trump Group’s New Jersey office was knocked out for weeks by Hurricane Sandy. Because all of the data resides in Trapp Technology’s Phoenix data center, the Trump Group personnel in Florida were able to access the New Jersey files. They took care of the financial tasks required to keep the business going through the disaster.
“That section controls a lot of our international operations,” said Lillycrop. “The people in Europe don’t care that there’s been a problem in New Jersey. They’ve got to operate. With Trapp Technology, we were able to access their accounts and also provide financial aid to our employees in New Jersey to help with repairs and other needs.”
• Life is Easier with Trapp Technology
Reduced IT costs, improved productivity, increased security and anywhere, anytime access add up to a successful solution for Trump Group. “I have nothing but good things to say about them. Trapp Technology makes my life easier, all the way around,” said Lillycrop. “It’s an extremely cost effective solution.”
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